- Email: [email protected]
A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF WOOD FROM PSKOV
ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY OF EURASIA Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76 E-mail: [email protected]
71
ISSUES OF PERIODIZATION AND CHRONOLOGY
M.I. Kulakova Research and Production Center for the Preservation and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of Pskov Province, Pushkina 3/13, Of¿ce 27, Pskov, 180000, Russia E-mail: [email protected]
A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF WOOD FROM PSKOV
Dendrochronological studies of wood from medieval Pskov were initiated by N.B. Chernykh about forty years ago. As a result of these works, the ¿rst dendrochronological scale for Pskov was developed. This scale ¿rst covered the period from 788 to 1459, then was extended until 1747. At the present, the wood sample from Pskov comprises 3336 specimens including 1990 dated pieces. Slices of wood were collected from 40 excavations located in various parts of the town. Every ¿eld season yields new specimens, mostly from layers dating from the 15th–19th cent. New samples make it possible to extend the limits of the scale and to enhance its reliability especially with regard to the 17th–18th-cent. Key words: Pskov, Sredni Town, Zapskovie, Polonische, archaeological excavations, wood samples, dendrochronological analysis.
Archaeological excavations in Pskov were started in 1912. In the space of nearly 100 years of archaeological research, more than 100,000 m2 of the horizon bearing cultural remains of the 10th–19th cent. have been exposed. The thickness of the cultural layer together with ballast deposits varies from 0.4 to 6.8 m due to uneven relief of the location and later constructions in the city. Archaeological studies have made it possible not only to examine large areas, but also to make inferences on the topography and history of the ancient and medieval town. Originally the settlement was located on the promontory between the Velikaya and the Pskova Rivers. During subsequent time periods, the town developed on the interÀuve where ¿ve forti¿cation systems were erected. The last one, in the 15th cent., protected also Posad in Zapskovie (the area on the opposite right bank of the Pskova) (Fig. 1). Dendrochronological studies of archaeological wood from Pskov were begun about 40 years ago by N.B. Chernykh. In 1969, the ¿rst collection of slices of wood was obtained from the excavation in
the old part of the Sredni (Middle) Town surrounded by the rampart of 1309 (Fig. 2, 1). On the basis of analytical results, the ¿rst dendrochronological scale was elaborated,
Fig. 1. Forti¿cations of medieval Pskov. I – Persi; II – “Dovmontova” Wall; III – rampart of 1309; IV – rampart of 1375; V – rampart of the late 15th cent.
Copyright © 2009, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2009.05.008
72
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
0
300 m
Fig. 2. Map showing the location of archaeological excavations in Pskov. Compiled by B.N. Kharlamov. 1 – 1968–1991, Lenina and near the Pedagogical Institute; 2 – 1990, Sovetskaya (Vasilievsky); 3 – 1991–1992, Of¿ce Building (Prikaznaya Palata); 4 – 1992, K. Marxa 8 (Borisoglebsky); 5 – 1992, Krasnykh Partizan 4 (Kazansky I); 6 – 1992, Pechenko’s house; 7 – 1994–1995, Sovetskaya – Nekrasova (Novovoznesensky); 8 – 1994, Nekrasova 11 (Kuznetsky V); 9 – 1996, Sverdlova 76a (Mikhailovsky IV); 10 – 1997–1998, Vorovskogo (test pits 1–5); 11 – 1998, Oktyabrsky 12 (Trupekhovsky II); 12 – 1998, Oktyabrsky 12 (Trupekhovsky IV); 13 – 1999, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XV); 14 – 1999, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XVI); 15 – 2000, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XIX); 16 – 2001, Sovetskaya 5 (Gorodetsky); 17 – 2000, K. Marxa – Gogolya (Petrovsky-4); 18 – 2001–2002, Sverdlova – K. Libknehta – Kalinina (Pokrovsky III–XI); 19 – 2002–2003, Lenina (excavation XVII); 20 – 2003, Krasnykh Partizan (Kazansky V); 21 – 2004, Verkhneberegovaya (Bogoyavlensky-32); 22 – 2004, Sovetskaya (Vasilevsky-3); 23 – 2006, Nekrasova (Starovoznesensky IV); 24 – 2005, Sovetskaya Nab. (Lubyansky V).
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
covering the interval from 788 to 1459. The scale was later extended until the year 1747 (Urieva, Chernykh, 1983; Chernykh, 1996). Wood samples from excavations of the 1970s–1980s were analyzed at the Laboratory for Dendrochronology of the Institute of Archaeology RAS (Moscow). Since the early 1990s, archaeological wood samples have been analyzed by the present author at the Pskov Archaeological Center (later on, the Archaeological Department of the Pskov State Museum Reserve). Currently, the collection contains wood samples gathered from various parts of the town (Fig. 2). Archaeological wood samples were analyzed according to the standard technique elaborated by B.A. Kolchin and V.E. Vikhrov and employed in the Laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology RAS. The ¿rst stage involved choosing the wood samples. Slices of wood were collected from all wooden constructions which had a satisfactory state of preservation. In some cases, control samples were taken. The next stage was selection of specimens suitable for dendrochronological dating. Most of them consisted of softwood, i.e., the wood of coniferous trees, primarily pine. Specimens of deciduous trees constituted not more than 5 %; most of them were oak. However, the collection of wood samples (90 specimens) of the year 2002 from the excavation area located in the central part of the town, north of the building of the Pedagogical Institute (P-02PL-XVII – Fig. 2, 19) contained nearly 16 % belonging to deciduous trees, such as birch and aspen, that are rarely used in building. Specimens under the age of 100 years (Fig. 3) dominate the collection, which is typical of medieval wooden constructions. In the ¿rst age group (0–50 years), approx. 10 % of wood slices have less than 30 annual rings. Such specimens were taken into account, but were not subject to special analyses and dating. Slices with 30–50 tree-rings were dated only if they belonged to a single building; such individual specimens do not usually produce a reliable date. Within the category of wood older than 250 years, most specimens (60 %) were taken from solitary poles. The age composition of the trees used in constructing varied across chronological periods. For instance, there were few specimens aged 150 years and more in the constructions of the 10th–11th cent. However, in constructions of the 15th–16th and 17th cent., the percentage of such trees was the greatest. This situation is typical of other sites in Eastern Europe (Chernykh, 1996; Tarabardina, 2005). The Pskov collection of archaeological wood comprises 3336 specimens (Table) including 1990 that have been dated. These specimens were collected from 40 excavations located in various parts of the town. Initially, only wood specimens from the ancient part of the Sredni Town were included in the collection (Fig.2, 1).
Fig. 3. Age composition of archaeological wood collection from Pskov.
Since the 1990s, the dendrochronological sample has been supplemented by wood slices from excavations located at Polonische and Zapskovie. These areas were populated since the late 15th cent., upon constructing the last forti¿cation system in 1465. This fact is reÀected in the chronological boundaries of dendrochronological collections: excavation areas located further from the town center yielded narrower chronological intervals compared to the central ones. Culture bearing layers at the peripheral areas are thinner. Organic materials demonstrate poorer states of preservation at the peripheral sites compared to the central areas. As a consequence, no dendrochronological scales are available for particular town districts. However, those dates for building that have been generated, add much to archaeological data and help correct them in certain cases. Here are several examples. In 1996, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Mikhailovsky IV excavation located at the intersection of Vorovskogo and Sverdlova Streets (Fig. 2, 9). This area represents a part of medieval Polonische surrounded by a rampart erected in the late 15th cent. A collection of wood specimens was archaeologically dated to the 15th–18th cent. The collection included wood slices from several constructions. Dates were obtained only for the specimens taken from logs and poles supporting the northern and southern banks of the brook. Thirty-seven slices were taken, 29 of them were analyzed and 19 were dated. These specimens belong to three construction tiers that, according to archaeological data, were dated to the 15th, 16th, and 17th cent. The slices produced dates in the range of the late 15th –early 16th cent. (from 1460 to 1505). These facts suggest that the consolidation of the brook banks was made once rather than several times over a long period. The considerable difference in dates can be explained by a bad state of preservation of the exterior tree-rings in some of the specimens and
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M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
Distribution of wood specimens from excavations in Pskov Excavation
Position in Fig. 2
Number of analyzed specimens
Number of dated specimens
Chronological range of the dated specimens
Sredni Town (inside the rampart of 1309) Excavations of 1968–1991 on Lenina Street ((I–XVI)
1
2570
1534
10th–18th cent.
P-90-Vas
2
30
21
14th–16th cent..
P-92-Pr.P
3
70
49
12th–14th cent..
P-97-Vor1, 2, 3
10
20
15
14th–16th cent..
P-01-Gor
16
55
39
11th–14th cent.
P-02-L-17
19
18
3
12th–14th cent..
5
16th–17th cent..
Sredni Town (between the ramparts of 1309 and 1375) P-92-BG
4
5
P-94-NV
7
8
6
17th cent.
P-98-Tr-2
11
67
29
14th–15th cent.
P-98-Tr-4
12
48
20
»
P-04-Vas-3
22
57(35)
35
14th–16th cent.
Polonische DP-92
6
19
8
16th cent.
P-92-Kaz-1
5
49
23
16th–18th cent.
P-94-Kuz-5
8
8
4
16th cent.
P-96-Mikh-4
9
42
20
»
P-00-Petr-4
17
27
9
16th – 18th cent.
P-03-Kaz-5
20
30
19
»
P-03-Pokr-3
18
17
13
15th cent.
P-06-Stvz
23
13
9
10th cent.
Zapskovie P-00-Bog-15
13
12
5
16th–17th cent.
P-00-Bog-16
14
22
8
»
P-00-Bog-19
15
13
10
»
P-03-Lub-5
24
18
15
13th–17th cent.
P-04-Bog-32
21
79
70
15th–17th cent.
–
3297
1969
–
Total
possibly by a secondary use of the wood. This hypothesis was put forward when relative dates were established. During the process of wood sample analysis, the curves of annual tree-ring growth were obtained, in which the synchronism index was considerably high (up to 80 %). However, according to archaeological evidence, these wood specimens belonged to different tiers (Kulakova, 2000). From 1992–2005, the Kazansky I–V excavations at Polonische were studied (Fig. 2, 5, 20). Organic materials including wood were poorly preserved at these sites,
similar to many other excavations in the district. Wood was slightly better preserved in low, Àooded areas. The species and age composition of the sample was standard: soft wood and specimens of the two younger age groups predominated. The dates which were obtained, indicating the late 17th cent., allow us to correlate the signs of ¿re noted at the excavations with the ¿res of 1682 and 1710 that ruined the whole town and were described in chronicles. In the early 21st cent., large-scale archaeological investigations were conducted in the riverside area of
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
Zapskovie at the Bogoyavlensky excavations (Fig. 2, 13–15). Wooden planks were recovered on the upper river terrace. In the course of works, it was hypothesized that the planking of the bank was renovated several times during the 15th–16th cent. (Salmina, 2003). A comparatively good state of wood preservation allowed us to generate a small series of dates suggesting that the planking was made in the 1570s–1590s. In 2006, four mound burials in wooden chambers were excavated at the Starovoznesensky IV excavation (Fig. 2, 23). The excavated area is located at Polonische. In ancient times, there was a border between Polonische and Pole (Field) described in chronicles. This border was shifted as the town expanded (Labutina, 1985). Thirteen slices were taken from chamber 3; ten of them were dated. All the specimens belong to the ¿rst two age groups. Most parts of the chamber were made of wood that was already used in some other constructions. Due to this the exterior tree-rings were poorly preserved. From 20 to 40 annual tree-rings are missing. The obtained dates, from 919 to 947, are considered conditional. However, these dates are important for Pskov archaeology, because the usage of early materials has been supported by dendrochronological dates that are close to absolute dates. Such evidence has been obtained only at two sites in Pskov: at Starovoznesensky IV and at excavation X of 1989 on Lenina Street (Fig. 2, 1). A small dendrochronological series from the excavation of 1992 near the Of¿ce Building (Prikaznaya Palata) should be noted (Fig.2, 3). Three tiers of the wooden Àoor of the Old Market Place (Stary Torg) were recovered and 34 wood slices were taken from logs and boards including 29 specimens that were dated. The chronicles recorded two periods for the construction of the Àoor at the Old Market Place: 1307/1308 and 1397 (Ibid.). The dates obtained for the upper tier are in the range of 1373 and 1395; those for the lower tier form two clusters:
1307–1308 (8 specimens) and 1309–1310 (11 specimens). It can be hypothesized that the Market Place was covered with the Àoor either in two stages – in 1308 and 1310, or not earlier than 1310, but with the usage of wood that was prepared in 1307–1308. A large and informative collection of archaeological wood specimens was taken from the excavations located at Sredni Town, which is the historical center of Pskov, on Lenina Street, near the Pedagogical Institute. This area of 9268 m2 was excavated from 1968–1991; 8104 m2 were completely excavated (Labutina, 1996). Most of the dates for all the chronological periods from the late 10th till the late 18th cent. were generated on specimens from this part of town. On the basis of groups of dates, periods of construction were established. The dated material from various constructions suggests that old wood was also used in building. However, it is impossible to reliably determine whether the wood used in construction was reused or wood that was prepared in advance. Archaeological reports and descriptions of the recovered constructions rarely contain such data. Results of the dendrochronological analysis suggest that the estimated dates of construction periods should be based not on the dates of single structures, but on the entire set of “cutting dates.” This would allow for the assessment of the periods of intense tree cutting (Kulakova, 2001). The dates generated on wood samples suggest that the earliest building period took place at the turn of the 10th/11th cent. (Fig. 4). The next cluster of dates corresponds to the 1080s–1090s and the 1150s–1170s. A few dates were obtained for the middle part of the 12th cent., while for the late 12th – early 13th cent. and the 1210s a minimum of dates is available. The reasons for this could have been the unstable political situation and the engagement of men in military defense and wars (Labutina, Kulakova, 2003).
Fig. 4. Chronological distribution of dated wood specimens from the excavations on Lenina Street and near the Pedagogical Institute (1969–1991).
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M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
A large amount of “cutting dates” was established for the 13th–14th cent. At least one date was generated each year. It is possible to identify periods of extensive wood storing, for example in the 13th cent.: the middle part of the century after 1242. The following active period occurred after the year 1280 and lasted until the late 1310s. The 1320s was a period of a slight decrease in wood cutting. The quantity of dates in the period from the 1320s–1340s is considerable, though smaller than during the previous period. However, it is enough to establish that period on the basis of available dendrochronological dates, especially given the considerable number of buildings that have been dated to the 1320s–1330s. There are few dated specimens for the second half of the 14th cent.; hence the limits of this period can be conventionally determined as the 1380s. Available dendrochronological data does not make it possible to establish building periods for subsequent and preceding chronological periods. However, it is possible to determine clusters of dates that are correlated with construction tiers on the basis of comparisons with stratigraphic data. Two such clusters can be noted for the 15th cent.: the 1420s–1430s and the 1440s–1450s. Even fewer dates are available for the 16th cent.; all of them are later than 1530. Only conditional periods were established for the chronological intervals from the 10th–11th cent. to the end of the 12th cent. and at the end of the 14th–16th cent., since the number of dated specimens is insigni¿cant. The present paper marks only general trends in the dendrochronological study of archaeological wood from Pskov. Every ¿eld season brings new wood samples, most of which originate from 15th–19th-century layers. These samples will hopefully help to extend the chronological limits of the scale and correct the poorly estimated dates from the 17th and 18th cent. Apparently, new data will provide new insight into the historical interpretations of archaeological materials.
References Chernykh N.B. 1996 Dendrokhronologiya i arkheologiya. Moscow: NOX. Kulakova M.I. 2000 Dendrokhronologicheskoe izuchenie kollektsii dereva Mikhailovskogo IV raskopa 1996 g. In Arkheologia i istoriya Pskova i Pskovskoi zemli: Materialy nauch. seminarov za 1996– 1999 gg. Pskov: PGOIAHMZ, pp. 16–19. Kulakova M.I. 2001 Dinamika zastroiki Pskova X–XVII vv. po dannym arkheologii, dendrokhronologii i pismennykh istochnikov. Cand. Sc. (History) Dissertation. Pskov. Labutina I.K. 1985 Istoricheskaya topogra¿ya Pskova. Moscow: Nauka. Labutina I.K. 1996 Raskopki v drevnei chasti pskovskogo posada (1967– 1991 gg.). In Arkheologicheskoe izuchenie Pskova. Vol. 3: Raskopki v drevnei chasti Srednego goroda (1967–1991 gg.): Materialy i issledovaniya, pt. 1. Pskov: Pskov. Gos. Ped. Inst., pp. 13–47. Labutina I.K., Kulakova M.I. 2003 Pskov v XIII v. (arkheologicheskie nablyudeniya po dinamike rasseleniya i stroitelstva). In Rus v XIII v.: Drevnosti temnogo vremeni. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 66–83. Salmina E.V. 2003 Raskopki v pribrezhnoi chasti Zapskoviya v 2000– 2001 gg. (Bogoyavlenskie XV, XVI, XIX, XXI–XXIV raskopy). In Arkheologiya i istoriya Pskova i Pskovskoi zemli: Materialy nauch. seminarov za 2001–2002 gg. Pskov: PGOIAHMZ, pp. 19–32. Tarabardina O.A. 2005 Dendrokhronologicheskie issledovaniya v Novgorode v 1995–2003 gg. In Arkheologiya i estestvennonauchnye metody. Moscow: Yazyki slavianskoi kultury, pp. 82–91. Urieva A.F., Chernykh N.B. 1983 Dendrokhronologicheskoe izuchenie dereva postroek iz raskopov Pskova. In Arkheologicheskoe izuchenie Pskova. Moscow: Nauka, p. 214. Received June 1, 2008.
71
ISSUES OF PERIODIZATION AND CHRONOLOGY
M.I. Kulakova Research and Production Center for the Preservation and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of Pskov Province, Pushkina 3/13, Of¿ce 27, Pskov, 180000, Russia E-mail: [email protected]
A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF WOOD FROM PSKOV
Dendrochronological studies of wood from medieval Pskov were initiated by N.B. Chernykh about forty years ago. As a result of these works, the ¿rst dendrochronological scale for Pskov was developed. This scale ¿rst covered the period from 788 to 1459, then was extended until 1747. At the present, the wood sample from Pskov comprises 3336 specimens including 1990 dated pieces. Slices of wood were collected from 40 excavations located in various parts of the town. Every ¿eld season yields new specimens, mostly from layers dating from the 15th–19th cent. New samples make it possible to extend the limits of the scale and to enhance its reliability especially with regard to the 17th–18th-cent. Key words: Pskov, Sredni Town, Zapskovie, Polonische, archaeological excavations, wood samples, dendrochronological analysis.
Archaeological excavations in Pskov were started in 1912. In the space of nearly 100 years of archaeological research, more than 100,000 m2 of the horizon bearing cultural remains of the 10th–19th cent. have been exposed. The thickness of the cultural layer together with ballast deposits varies from 0.4 to 6.8 m due to uneven relief of the location and later constructions in the city. Archaeological studies have made it possible not only to examine large areas, but also to make inferences on the topography and history of the ancient and medieval town. Originally the settlement was located on the promontory between the Velikaya and the Pskova Rivers. During subsequent time periods, the town developed on the interÀuve where ¿ve forti¿cation systems were erected. The last one, in the 15th cent., protected also Posad in Zapskovie (the area on the opposite right bank of the Pskova) (Fig. 1). Dendrochronological studies of archaeological wood from Pskov were begun about 40 years ago by N.B. Chernykh. In 1969, the ¿rst collection of slices of wood was obtained from the excavation in
the old part of the Sredni (Middle) Town surrounded by the rampart of 1309 (Fig. 2, 1). On the basis of analytical results, the ¿rst dendrochronological scale was elaborated,
Fig. 1. Forti¿cations of medieval Pskov. I – Persi; II – “Dovmontova” Wall; III – rampart of 1309; IV – rampart of 1375; V – rampart of the late 15th cent.
Copyright © 2009, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2009.05.008
72
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
0
300 m
Fig. 2. Map showing the location of archaeological excavations in Pskov. Compiled by B.N. Kharlamov. 1 – 1968–1991, Lenina and near the Pedagogical Institute; 2 – 1990, Sovetskaya (Vasilievsky); 3 – 1991–1992, Of¿ce Building (Prikaznaya Palata); 4 – 1992, K. Marxa 8 (Borisoglebsky); 5 – 1992, Krasnykh Partizan 4 (Kazansky I); 6 – 1992, Pechenko’s house; 7 – 1994–1995, Sovetskaya – Nekrasova (Novovoznesensky); 8 – 1994, Nekrasova 11 (Kuznetsky V); 9 – 1996, Sverdlova 76a (Mikhailovsky IV); 10 – 1997–1998, Vorovskogo (test pits 1–5); 11 – 1998, Oktyabrsky 12 (Trupekhovsky II); 12 – 1998, Oktyabrsky 12 (Trupekhovsky IV); 13 – 1999, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XV); 14 – 1999, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XVI); 15 – 2000, Hercena (Bogoyavlensky XIX); 16 – 2001, Sovetskaya 5 (Gorodetsky); 17 – 2000, K. Marxa – Gogolya (Petrovsky-4); 18 – 2001–2002, Sverdlova – K. Libknehta – Kalinina (Pokrovsky III–XI); 19 – 2002–2003, Lenina (excavation XVII); 20 – 2003, Krasnykh Partizan (Kazansky V); 21 – 2004, Verkhneberegovaya (Bogoyavlensky-32); 22 – 2004, Sovetskaya (Vasilevsky-3); 23 – 2006, Nekrasova (Starovoznesensky IV); 24 – 2005, Sovetskaya Nab. (Lubyansky V).
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
covering the interval from 788 to 1459. The scale was later extended until the year 1747 (Urieva, Chernykh, 1983; Chernykh, 1996). Wood samples from excavations of the 1970s–1980s were analyzed at the Laboratory for Dendrochronology of the Institute of Archaeology RAS (Moscow). Since the early 1990s, archaeological wood samples have been analyzed by the present author at the Pskov Archaeological Center (later on, the Archaeological Department of the Pskov State Museum Reserve). Currently, the collection contains wood samples gathered from various parts of the town (Fig. 2). Archaeological wood samples were analyzed according to the standard technique elaborated by B.A. Kolchin and V.E. Vikhrov and employed in the Laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology RAS. The ¿rst stage involved choosing the wood samples. Slices of wood were collected from all wooden constructions which had a satisfactory state of preservation. In some cases, control samples were taken. The next stage was selection of specimens suitable for dendrochronological dating. Most of them consisted of softwood, i.e., the wood of coniferous trees, primarily pine. Specimens of deciduous trees constituted not more than 5 %; most of them were oak. However, the collection of wood samples (90 specimens) of the year 2002 from the excavation area located in the central part of the town, north of the building of the Pedagogical Institute (P-02PL-XVII – Fig. 2, 19) contained nearly 16 % belonging to deciduous trees, such as birch and aspen, that are rarely used in building. Specimens under the age of 100 years (Fig. 3) dominate the collection, which is typical of medieval wooden constructions. In the ¿rst age group (0–50 years), approx. 10 % of wood slices have less than 30 annual rings. Such specimens were taken into account, but were not subject to special analyses and dating. Slices with 30–50 tree-rings were dated only if they belonged to a single building; such individual specimens do not usually produce a reliable date. Within the category of wood older than 250 years, most specimens (60 %) were taken from solitary poles. The age composition of the trees used in constructing varied across chronological periods. For instance, there were few specimens aged 150 years and more in the constructions of the 10th–11th cent. However, in constructions of the 15th–16th and 17th cent., the percentage of such trees was the greatest. This situation is typical of other sites in Eastern Europe (Chernykh, 1996; Tarabardina, 2005). The Pskov collection of archaeological wood comprises 3336 specimens (Table) including 1990 that have been dated. These specimens were collected from 40 excavations located in various parts of the town. Initially, only wood specimens from the ancient part of the Sredni Town were included in the collection (Fig.2, 1).
Fig. 3. Age composition of archaeological wood collection from Pskov.
Since the 1990s, the dendrochronological sample has been supplemented by wood slices from excavations located at Polonische and Zapskovie. These areas were populated since the late 15th cent., upon constructing the last forti¿cation system in 1465. This fact is reÀected in the chronological boundaries of dendrochronological collections: excavation areas located further from the town center yielded narrower chronological intervals compared to the central ones. Culture bearing layers at the peripheral areas are thinner. Organic materials demonstrate poorer states of preservation at the peripheral sites compared to the central areas. As a consequence, no dendrochronological scales are available for particular town districts. However, those dates for building that have been generated, add much to archaeological data and help correct them in certain cases. Here are several examples. In 1996, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Mikhailovsky IV excavation located at the intersection of Vorovskogo and Sverdlova Streets (Fig. 2, 9). This area represents a part of medieval Polonische surrounded by a rampart erected in the late 15th cent. A collection of wood specimens was archaeologically dated to the 15th–18th cent. The collection included wood slices from several constructions. Dates were obtained only for the specimens taken from logs and poles supporting the northern and southern banks of the brook. Thirty-seven slices were taken, 29 of them were analyzed and 19 were dated. These specimens belong to three construction tiers that, according to archaeological data, were dated to the 15th, 16th, and 17th cent. The slices produced dates in the range of the late 15th –early 16th cent. (from 1460 to 1505). These facts suggest that the consolidation of the brook banks was made once rather than several times over a long period. The considerable difference in dates can be explained by a bad state of preservation of the exterior tree-rings in some of the specimens and
73
74
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
Distribution of wood specimens from excavations in Pskov Excavation
Position in Fig. 2
Number of analyzed specimens
Number of dated specimens
Chronological range of the dated specimens
Sredni Town (inside the rampart of 1309) Excavations of 1968–1991 on Lenina Street ((I–XVI)
1
2570
1534
10th–18th cent.
P-90-Vas
2
30
21
14th–16th cent..
P-92-Pr.P
3
70
49
12th–14th cent..
P-97-Vor1, 2, 3
10
20
15
14th–16th cent..
P-01-Gor
16
55
39
11th–14th cent.
P-02-L-17
19
18
3
12th–14th cent..
5
16th–17th cent..
Sredni Town (between the ramparts of 1309 and 1375) P-92-BG
4
5
P-94-NV
7
8
6
17th cent.
P-98-Tr-2
11
67
29
14th–15th cent.
P-98-Tr-4
12
48
20
»
P-04-Vas-3
22
57(35)
35
14th–16th cent.
Polonische DP-92
6
19
8
16th cent.
P-92-Kaz-1
5
49
23
16th–18th cent.
P-94-Kuz-5
8
8
4
16th cent.
P-96-Mikh-4
9
42
20
»
P-00-Petr-4
17
27
9
16th – 18th cent.
P-03-Kaz-5
20
30
19
»
P-03-Pokr-3
18
17
13
15th cent.
P-06-Stvz
23
13
9
10th cent.
Zapskovie P-00-Bog-15
13
12
5
16th–17th cent.
P-00-Bog-16
14
22
8
»
P-00-Bog-19
15
13
10
»
P-03-Lub-5
24
18
15
13th–17th cent.
P-04-Bog-32
21
79
70
15th–17th cent.
–
3297
1969
–
Total
possibly by a secondary use of the wood. This hypothesis was put forward when relative dates were established. During the process of wood sample analysis, the curves of annual tree-ring growth were obtained, in which the synchronism index was considerably high (up to 80 %). However, according to archaeological evidence, these wood specimens belonged to different tiers (Kulakova, 2000). From 1992–2005, the Kazansky I–V excavations at Polonische were studied (Fig. 2, 5, 20). Organic materials including wood were poorly preserved at these sites,
similar to many other excavations in the district. Wood was slightly better preserved in low, Àooded areas. The species and age composition of the sample was standard: soft wood and specimens of the two younger age groups predominated. The dates which were obtained, indicating the late 17th cent., allow us to correlate the signs of ¿re noted at the excavations with the ¿res of 1682 and 1710 that ruined the whole town and were described in chronicles. In the early 21st cent., large-scale archaeological investigations were conducted in the riverside area of
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
Zapskovie at the Bogoyavlensky excavations (Fig. 2, 13–15). Wooden planks were recovered on the upper river terrace. In the course of works, it was hypothesized that the planking of the bank was renovated several times during the 15th–16th cent. (Salmina, 2003). A comparatively good state of wood preservation allowed us to generate a small series of dates suggesting that the planking was made in the 1570s–1590s. In 2006, four mound burials in wooden chambers were excavated at the Starovoznesensky IV excavation (Fig. 2, 23). The excavated area is located at Polonische. In ancient times, there was a border between Polonische and Pole (Field) described in chronicles. This border was shifted as the town expanded (Labutina, 1985). Thirteen slices were taken from chamber 3; ten of them were dated. All the specimens belong to the ¿rst two age groups. Most parts of the chamber were made of wood that was already used in some other constructions. Due to this the exterior tree-rings were poorly preserved. From 20 to 40 annual tree-rings are missing. The obtained dates, from 919 to 947, are considered conditional. However, these dates are important for Pskov archaeology, because the usage of early materials has been supported by dendrochronological dates that are close to absolute dates. Such evidence has been obtained only at two sites in Pskov: at Starovoznesensky IV and at excavation X of 1989 on Lenina Street (Fig. 2, 1). A small dendrochronological series from the excavation of 1992 near the Of¿ce Building (Prikaznaya Palata) should be noted (Fig.2, 3). Three tiers of the wooden Àoor of the Old Market Place (Stary Torg) were recovered and 34 wood slices were taken from logs and boards including 29 specimens that were dated. The chronicles recorded two periods for the construction of the Àoor at the Old Market Place: 1307/1308 and 1397 (Ibid.). The dates obtained for the upper tier are in the range of 1373 and 1395; those for the lower tier form two clusters:
1307–1308 (8 specimens) and 1309–1310 (11 specimens). It can be hypothesized that the Market Place was covered with the Àoor either in two stages – in 1308 and 1310, or not earlier than 1310, but with the usage of wood that was prepared in 1307–1308. A large and informative collection of archaeological wood specimens was taken from the excavations located at Sredni Town, which is the historical center of Pskov, on Lenina Street, near the Pedagogical Institute. This area of 9268 m2 was excavated from 1968–1991; 8104 m2 were completely excavated (Labutina, 1996). Most of the dates for all the chronological periods from the late 10th till the late 18th cent. were generated on specimens from this part of town. On the basis of groups of dates, periods of construction were established. The dated material from various constructions suggests that old wood was also used in building. However, it is impossible to reliably determine whether the wood used in construction was reused or wood that was prepared in advance. Archaeological reports and descriptions of the recovered constructions rarely contain such data. Results of the dendrochronological analysis suggest that the estimated dates of construction periods should be based not on the dates of single structures, but on the entire set of “cutting dates.” This would allow for the assessment of the periods of intense tree cutting (Kulakova, 2001). The dates generated on wood samples suggest that the earliest building period took place at the turn of the 10th/11th cent. (Fig. 4). The next cluster of dates corresponds to the 1080s–1090s and the 1150s–1170s. A few dates were obtained for the middle part of the 12th cent., while for the late 12th – early 13th cent. and the 1210s a minimum of dates is available. The reasons for this could have been the unstable political situation and the engagement of men in military defense and wars (Labutina, Kulakova, 2003).
Fig. 4. Chronological distribution of dated wood specimens from the excavations on Lenina Street and near the Pedagogical Institute (1969–1991).
75
76
M.I. Kulakova / Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37/1 (2009) 71–76
A large amount of “cutting dates” was established for the 13th–14th cent. At least one date was generated each year. It is possible to identify periods of extensive wood storing, for example in the 13th cent.: the middle part of the century after 1242. The following active period occurred after the year 1280 and lasted until the late 1310s. The 1320s was a period of a slight decrease in wood cutting. The quantity of dates in the period from the 1320s–1340s is considerable, though smaller than during the previous period. However, it is enough to establish that period on the basis of available dendrochronological dates, especially given the considerable number of buildings that have been dated to the 1320s–1330s. There are few dated specimens for the second half of the 14th cent.; hence the limits of this period can be conventionally determined as the 1380s. Available dendrochronological data does not make it possible to establish building periods for subsequent and preceding chronological periods. However, it is possible to determine clusters of dates that are correlated with construction tiers on the basis of comparisons with stratigraphic data. Two such clusters can be noted for the 15th cent.: the 1420s–1430s and the 1440s–1450s. Even fewer dates are available for the 16th cent.; all of them are later than 1530. Only conditional periods were established for the chronological intervals from the 10th–11th cent. to the end of the 12th cent. and at the end of the 14th–16th cent., since the number of dated specimens is insigni¿cant. The present paper marks only general trends in the dendrochronological study of archaeological wood from Pskov. Every ¿eld season brings new wood samples, most of which originate from 15th–19th-century layers. These samples will hopefully help to extend the chronological limits of the scale and correct the poorly estimated dates from the 17th and 18th cent. Apparently, new data will provide new insight into the historical interpretations of archaeological materials.
References Chernykh N.B. 1996 Dendrokhronologiya i arkheologiya. Moscow: NOX. Kulakova M.I. 2000 Dendrokhronologicheskoe izuchenie kollektsii dereva Mikhailovskogo IV raskopa 1996 g. In Arkheologia i istoriya Pskova i Pskovskoi zemli: Materialy nauch. seminarov za 1996– 1999 gg. Pskov: PGOIAHMZ, pp. 16–19. Kulakova M.I. 2001 Dinamika zastroiki Pskova X–XVII vv. po dannym arkheologii, dendrokhronologii i pismennykh istochnikov. Cand. Sc. (History) Dissertation. Pskov. Labutina I.K. 1985 Istoricheskaya topogra¿ya Pskova. Moscow: Nauka. Labutina I.K. 1996 Raskopki v drevnei chasti pskovskogo posada (1967– 1991 gg.). In Arkheologicheskoe izuchenie Pskova. Vol. 3: Raskopki v drevnei chasti Srednego goroda (1967–1991 gg.): Materialy i issledovaniya, pt. 1. Pskov: Pskov. Gos. Ped. Inst., pp. 13–47. Labutina I.K., Kulakova M.I. 2003 Pskov v XIII v. (arkheologicheskie nablyudeniya po dinamike rasseleniya i stroitelstva). In Rus v XIII v.: Drevnosti temnogo vremeni. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 66–83. Salmina E.V. 2003 Raskopki v pribrezhnoi chasti Zapskoviya v 2000– 2001 gg. (Bogoyavlenskie XV, XVI, XIX, XXI–XXIV raskopy). In Arkheologiya i istoriya Pskova i Pskovskoi zemli: Materialy nauch. seminarov za 2001–2002 gg. Pskov: PGOIAHMZ, pp. 19–32. Tarabardina O.A. 2005 Dendrokhronologicheskie issledovaniya v Novgorode v 1995–2003 gg. In Arkheologiya i estestvennonauchnye metody. Moscow: Yazyki slavianskoi kultury, pp. 82–91. Urieva A.F., Chernykh N.B. 1983 Dendrokhronologicheskoe izuchenie dereva postroek iz raskopov Pskova. In Arkheologicheskoe izuchenie Pskova. Moscow: Nauka, p. 214. Received June 1, 2008.